Almonte rejoins Yanks as Francis designated

ARLINGTON -- The Yankees recalled outfielder Zoilo Almonte from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Monday, immediately inserting the 25-year-old to play left field and bat ninth against the Rangers.

It is Almonte's third stint with the big league club this season, and he has batted .160 (4-for-25) with one homer. Almonte was batting .281 in 75 games at Triple-A, leading the RailRiders in homers (16) and RBIs (57).

In a corresponding roster move, the Yankees designated left-hander Jeff Francis for assignment, reducing the number of active pitchers on the staff to 12.

Francis was 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two relief appearances, spanning 1 2/3 innings. On July 11, he was acquired from the Athletics with cash considerations for a player to be named.

Teixeira hoping he's had final day of rest

ARLINGTON -- Mark Teixeira took on-field batting practice Monday for the first time since he sustained what the Yankees called a lower lat strain, and the first baseman hopes to return to the starting lineup on Tuesday against the Rangers at Globe Life Park.

"I'm very happy," Teixeira said. "The back spasms are gone, which I've been dealing with for a long time, so that's really good. It's good to see that the treatments worked and the time off helped, so hopefully they won't come back."

Teixeira had not played since July 20 against the Reds before singling in a pinch-hit appearance in Monday's 4-2 Yankees loss; he had a platelet-rich plasma injection, and at the time, the team said that he would miss three to four days. It has been longer than initially anticipated, but Teixeira has at least been able to avoid the 15-day disabled list.

"I wasn't expecting all the little annoying things that come up. That's part of the game," Teixeira said before the game. "Hopefully this is it, and I have two healthy months to finish the season. But missing a couple of games here, a couple of games there, it's never fun."

Teixeira, 34, said that last season's wrist injury made him consider his baseball mortality, and the fact that he could no longer play through injuries that he might have played through while in his 20s.

"I've played through so many things. I can't play through them anymore," Teixeira said. "That's just the fact of the matter. The guys ask me, 'How did you play in Texas for five years, 100 degrees every night?' I was young. I was a kid. I played through everything.

"You fouled a pitch of your leg, 'Go get 'em.' Strain something in your back, 'Go get 'em.' That's just the way it is when you're young. I can't play through those things [now]. I don't think I would have had to miss games with back spasms."

Teixeira said that maintenance will be a key for him, and that he'd prefer to play until something hurts rather than take precautionary days off. But it's pretty much inevitable at this stage that sooner or later, there will be another issue to deal with; as he said with a smile, "Father Time is undefeated."

"I was very lucky that I could play through those things and stay on the field as long as anybody," Teixeira said. "But at a certain point, you hit a wall. I hit a wall last year, and hopefully I won't have a lot of these. But if they do pop up, it's just harder to play through it."

Girardi gives Cashman space to work on deals

ARLINGTON -- Joe Girardi has more of an inside track to the Yankees' trade-rumor scene than the average observer, but the manager said that he prefers to give general manager Brian Cashman his space to work, rather than get excited about moves that might not happen.

"We talk on a daily basis anyway during the course of the day, so it doesn't really change much," Girardi said. "I know he's always trying to improve our club, and I'm not going to keep bothering him and take up his time when there's things he's doing."

Cashman has said that he has more work to do in what has been a busy July; upgrading starting pitching is a focus, but various media reports have also connected the Yanks to discussions of some level for outfielders Marlon Byrd (Phillies), Chris Denorfia (Padres), Alex Rios (Rangers) and Josh Willingham (Twins).

Girardi often says that he has to worry about the 25 players in his clubhouse, but he does regularly communicate his views on the roster and specific needs to Cashman, something that will continue even after Thursday's non-waiver Trade Deadline.

"I try not to get excited, because as I always say, it takes two teams to really want to do a deal," Girardi said. "And do I expect it? I never expect to get new people. I always think, 'This is who we've got, this is who has to get it done.'"

Bombers bits

-- Jacoby Ellsbury received a day off from the starting lineup for rest on Monday against the Rangers. Ellsbury had played in all 10 of the Yanks' games coming out of the All-Star break, batting .289 (11-for-38) with a double and two homers on the homestand. He said Girardi told him about the day off on Sunday's flight to Texas.

• Masahiro Tanaka (partially torn right ulnar collateral ligament) stayed back in New York to continue receiving treatment at Yankee Stadium. Aug. 4 will mark three weeks of full rest since the right-hander received a platelet-rich plasma injection.

"We're still waiting for that three-week mark. Nothing's really going to change until the three-week mark," Girardi said. "He's staying back and doing treatment every day. He feels better and better. You just kind of wait to see where you are after three weeks."

• Carlos Beltran (bone spur in right elbow) has increased to throwing at 100-120 feet. The Yankees are hopeful that Beltran, currently only a designated hitter, could return to play some outfield after this road trip.

• Michael Pineda (strained muscle in upper back) is scheduled to throw three innings or 45 pitches in a simulated game on Tuesday in Tampa, Fla. The Yankees are hopeful that Pineda can rejoin the big league roster in mid-August.

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.